“I didn’t feel the hustle on the field and the behavior off the field represented the Kalamazoo Kings and how I feel they need to be represented,” said Wright, whose decision was made official Thursday. “It starts on the top. A 7-31 record speaks for itself.”

Maloney will act as a player/manager, and pitcher Tyler Herron will take on a coaching role for the remainder of the season, or until Wright finds replacements.

For Maloney, it was a dream come true in an ugly reality.

“It’s always been a dream of mine, but I can’t imagine worse circumstances for it to happen,” said Maloney, who will uphold many of the same philosophies as Keefe.

Jamie Keefe

“I have a great deal of respect for Jamie and Brian both personally and professionally. I absolutely wish they were still in this locker room with us, but because they’re not, Tyler and myself are going to take this as an incredible opportunity and run with it.”

Keefe was as surprised as his players upon hearing the news Wednesday.

“It was an owner’s decision,” Keefe said Thursday. “I don’t agree with it, but it’s not my call. I love these kids. They gave me everything they had. It was a real emotional night for all of us Wednesday. I’ve never left a clubhouse like that.”

Third-year Kings player Destan Makonnen had never witnessed a scene like Wednesday night.

Brian Lewis

“There was a lot of tears, a lot of swear words, a lot of anger and a lot of disappointment,” the Grand Rapids native said of Wright’s postgame meeting with the team. “It was his first year, it was a brand new team and he brought in all new guys. You can’t let him go because he had one bad year. The worst thing is that we felt like it was our fault. He’s not the one playing.”

Wright said his decision was heavily influenced by a lack of focus.

“It came down to me watching the play on the field and the intensity off the field,” he said. “I demand people to lay it out every single game and not one inning. ... If you’re intense and you leave it all on the field, you’ll never have to hear from Bill Wright. I don’t ever expect to say losing is acceptable.”

The Kings (8-31) came out focused, running on adrenaline and grinded out a win Thursday behind a steady performance from starting pitcher Javier Gomez, who said Keefe’s departure was all the motivation the team needed.

“It definitely helped us and pushed us,” Gomez (1-1) said. “We just all went out and gave it 100 percent. It’s going to keep us motivated. We all have something to fight for now.”

Kalamazoo scored in four different innings with the help of seven efficient hits and committed no errors.

B.J. Dail (3-3) took the loss for Gateway (20-20).

Keefe is confident “Sarge,” as the players call Maloney, will take the team in the right direction.

“I believe in him,” said Keefe, who has the third-most managerial wins in league history. “He’s been the team captain all year, just now he has a little more on his plate.”